Warrior Beat

In Norm Chow’s 40 years of coaching, there were two opposing defensive linemen who forced Chow’s staffs to change their usual blocking schemes — Dwight Freeney and Al Noga. “You couldn’t block them the way you would normally block a scheme,” Chow said. Freeney was “impossible to block,” Chow said. Chow said Noga was comparable, particularly as a pass rusher. Chow announced that Noga — a UH graduate and All-America defensive lineman who played seven NFL seasons — will be […]

The referee usually has to be alerted when an offensive lineman will be used as an eligible receiver. The alert now is that Sean Schroeder, Ikaika Woolsey and Taylor Graham (and, possibly, Jeremy Higgins) will be eligible quarterbacks for Saturday’s homecoming game against Colorado State. Asked which quarterback would play, head coach Norm Chow said, “All three. Why not?” Indeed. Why not? * * * * * There apparently is a bad case of flu-like symptoms spreading through the team. […]

This week — and for the rest of the season — the Rainbow Warriors will be wearing a green “Play Hard” wrist band. The players wore a similar band last year. The re-issue is symbolic of each players’ renewed pledge to the team. * * * * * It all begins up front. Fittingly, this week’s co-captains are defensive end Beau Yap and offensive guard Kody Afusia. * * * * * The “Pit” is the sideline area where injured […]

It appears that running back Faga Wily, who continues to experience problems from a concussion, will be shut down for the rest of the season. Wily provided a boost to the power running game in Joey Iosefa’s absence in the first two games. But he hasn’t played or practiced since suffering  a concussion during a bye-week scrimmage. Steven Lakalaka, Diocemy Saint Juste, Marcus Langkilde and Willis Wilson will split reps, with the hope that Iosefa will join the rotation in […]

With the extra week of practice because of yesterday’s bye, the Rainbow Warriors already have implemented the game-plan basics for this Saturday’s game against Colorado State. The Warriors will make adjustments through the week. For the first time in a month, all four quarterbacks — Taylor Graham, Sean Schroeder, Ikaika Woolsey and Jeremy Higgins — are healthy. Tight end Jordan Pu‘u-Robinson, who had an MCL injury, also appears to be healthy. The extra week of practice probably helped earn more […]

It would be mature to not beat the proverbial dead horse. But, heck, since we’ve never been accused of being mature:  Don’t you wish UH decided to accept an offer to play Colorado today? Yep. As my former moneyman Donn Natori once said: “You’re redundant and repetitive.” (He also called me “un-literate,” but that’s an English discussion for another day.) * * * * * The coaches were on recruiting missions yesterday, with one in the East, another in California, […]

The Rainbow Warriors will close bye week with an extended scrimmage today. * * * * * There have been two interesting changes this week: • Sean Shigematsu has been playing left guard on the No. 1 offensive line. • Daniel Masifilo has moved to cornerback. He had an interception during yesterday’s team drills. “When the ball’s in the air, I’m a receiver again,” Masifilo said of playing corner. * * * * * * Interesting report that there is […]

Receivers coach Luke Matthews and recently converted receiver Kwamane Bowens were the reasons the defense ran three laps after yesterday’s practice. In what was simply called, “The Competition,” there were three sprints matching representatives from the offense and defense. In the 40-yard dash, Bowens cruised to victory after safety Trayvon Henderson slipped. There was no protest on whether Bowens, who moved from cornerback 10 days earlier, had logged enough time at receiver to qualify as an offensive player. Matthews easily […]